Mystifying Magic play part of bullies again

Orlando shocks Indiana after stunning OKC

If this past weekend isn't the highlight of their season, then the Magic have some explaining to do.

All you need to know is that Glen "Big Baby" Davis was asking me how many games the team was out of the playoff race.

P-p-p-playoffs?!

When did the Magic suddenly go from the geek to the bully? And what do we make of them going off the rebuilding script and beating the best team in the East after beating the best team in the West?

What's with this playoff push when they've been aiming all these losses at the draft lottery?

Sunday, the Magic shocked the Indiana Pacers and Paul George by a point. Friday night, they stunned Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder by a point. Each time they came back from 17-point deficits.

Are you stumped, folks? Confused? Totally lost?

You're not alone.

What's the plan again?

General manager Rob Hennigan, who has seen Duke star Jabari Parker at more arenas than Parker's parents, has to be mumbling to himself.

Jacque Vaughn might become the first coach to get fired for winning too much and decreasing the chances to land a player like Parker.

Parker is part of what draftniks and scouts are calling one of the best draft classes since LeBron and colleagues.

The truth is, the players on board the Magic don't give a hoot about that.

"No, not at all," Arron Affalo said, with a broad grin.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers had a great line when asked about tanking by front offices. "Upstairs is worried about ping-pong balls. Downstairs is worried about basketballs," Rivers said.

The Magic were retooled mostly with young guys on training wheels surrounded by a few old heads, the loads of losses coming largely by design.

They just defied Hennigan and the team's blueprints, turning two sure losses into upset wins.

It's not as if the rest of the league is shuddering, considering the Magic's two big victories might wind up being blips on the seasonal radar. But they are just seven games out of the final playoff spot in the pitiful Eastern Conference.

"The East is worse than the MEAC," Kyle O'Quinn quipped.

Well, the Feb. 20 trade deadline is a way to stop this madness and get worse.

What's happened is the young 'uns don't know any better, and the veterans are embarrassed about being league punchlines.

"This is the most dangerous type of team," George said, "a group of young guys who are trying to make a name for themselves and veteran guys who are playoff-battle tested. When you put that together, you are going to get a team that is going to come out and compete at its hardest."

Davis said, "We want to win. Guys like Arron, Jameer [Nelson] and myself, who've been playing a while, time doesn't wait. We want to make a mark."

Speaking of making a mark, rookie Victor Oladipo is taking everyone with him on this recent ride. His will and energy is infectious, and his big plays against the Thunder and the Pacers made the difference.

"They want to play for him; they want to play with him," Vaughn said.

Oladipo came up with a loose ball to beat the Thunder and scored 13 of his 23 points in the Magic's telltale fourth against the Pacers, leaving Nelson to probably wonder if his time in Orlando is up.

"He is special," George said of Oladipo. "He is one of those guys that plays on both ends. Those are rare guys in this league."

Oladipo can miss shots and throw the ball to the other team, but he overcomes the warts with a relentlessness that spreads to others. Nik Vucevic scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, playing unusually aggressive. He stuck his head into the lion's mouth against 7-foot-2 Roy Hibbert on another surprising night when the wallflowers became prom kings.